Alternative
by Lord Aerono
Summary: When you are being hunted by an unbeatable opponent, you have three choices. Hide, die, or run. This is the third option.
1. Awakening

Awakening

"Lady Juno. To what do we owe the honor?"

"Please, there is no need for formalities. This is purely a social call. I have a visitor."

"Who is he?"

"His name is Percy Jackson. He will be staying with you for a few months."

"Who is his godly parent?"

"Poseidon. Will that be a problem?"

"No. We just like to know whose children we shelter."

"I see. Take care of him. He is more important than you know."

"Understood. James, Damien. Take Percy here to the guest tent. He'll be staying with us for a while."

"On it."

"One more thing Backlash."

"Please. It's Ben."

"Ben. He will not remember anything when he wakes up. It would be good if you could have someone explain things to him when he wakes."

"Of course, Lady Juno. I will handle it myself."

"Farewell."

* * *

><p>Percy woke with a start.<p>

A tall Asian boy was sitting next to him.

"Welcome back."

"Where am I?" Percy asked.

"About 3 miles from the outskirts of Kansas City."

Percy got to his feet, a little unsteady.

The Asian steadied him. "Easy there. Wouldn't want you to have to visit the medical tent on your first day in camp."

"What is this camp called?"

The Asian boy raised an eyebrow. "Well, most of us call it home. A few of us call it a vacation. And Sean insists on calling it Canvas town."

Percy shook himself. "I'm sorry, I forgot to ask your name."

"It's OK. Juno said you didn't remember anything."

"Juno? Oh, you mean Hera."

"Call her what you want. Some of us call her Juno, some of us call her Hera. Anyway, getting back to your question, my name is Ben Johnson, but everyone calls me Backlash."

Now it was Percy's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Why do they call you that? And what do you mean, 'us'?"

"They call me Backlash because of my 'special ability.' And we, everyone in this camp, are the Rangers. I hope you're ready to meet the team, 'cause they're dying to meet you."

* * *

><p>Percy stepped into the sunlight after Ben.<p>

They were at the edge of a perfect circle of tents. All of them had the same overused, faded look. In the center was a pile of bags, a table, and what looked like a portable combined forge and kitchen.

Scattered throughout the various tents were fourteen other people, between thirteen and thirty, and of every description imaginable.

A Native American girl repairing a nearby tent noticed them, and hurried over.

As she got closer, Percy realized his mistake. Her skin wasn't flesh, but rather what looked like bark.

"That's Marian Tod. She's the daughter of a Redwood dryad. Do not mess with her or she will take you down."

Marian reached them.

"Hello Backlash."

"Hello Marian. You look a little wooden today. Rough night?"

Marian slapped Ben, making him wince. "Not that it's any of your business, but yeah. I had sentry duty last night, remember?"

"Oh yeah. I thought you were on duty for tonight."

"I traded with Alexandra."

"Ah. Next time, could you please let me know?"

"Sure. Who's the new kid?"

"Marian, I'd like you to meet Percy Jackson. Percy, Marian Tod."

Percy extended his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too."

"Ow! You have a grip like a vice."

"Sorry. My skin is made of Redwood bark. I have a hard time feeling through it."

"It's OK."

Marian nodded. "Glad to hear it."

"How's the tent repair going?"

Marian glanced back. "It's going fine. And don't think I don't know that was a brush off. We will finish this talk later."

As she left Percy exhaled. "Are they all like her?"

Ben smiled. "Why don't I let them answer that question. And speaking of which," he turned and shouted. "James! Could I borrow you for a minute?"


	2. Confrontation

Confrontation

Responding to Ben's shout, a tall blond boy detached himself from the group by the table and came bounding over.

"You called?"

"Yes. James Sollus, son of Neptune, I present Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon."

James and Percy started at the same time.

"He's my..."

"You're my..."

The ground started shaking, and an ominous rumbling began to build.

Percy looked wildly about, while Ben merely looked exasperated.

"James, we've been over this. You can not use your power inside the camp."

The rumbling immediately subsided.

James looked embarrassed. "Sorry."

"Hey, no harm no foul. Just don't do it again."

James turned back to Percy, who was looking at him in bewilderment. "I think that we should explain this to Percy, or his head's going to explode."

"You do that. I'm going to go check on the wards. See you guys later!"

"See ya! Hey, do you want to boost?"

Ben, who had been starting to leave, stopped dead. "Sure, why not."

"OK then."

Ben turned back around, ran over and punched James.

Before Percy could react, Ben had rained a score of blows on James, who seemed only mildly affected.

Strangely, every time Ben's fists made contact, he seemed to accelerate, until he was moving five times as fast. Then he was gone.

Percy hurried over to James. "Are you OK?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine."

"Why was Ben hitting you like that?"

"That's his power. He has what Mars calls battle frenzy. Every time he hits an opponent he speeds up, and every time an opponent hits him he slows down. As he can get up to five times as fast as he normally is, once he's up to speed he almost never gets slowed down. There's a rumor that he once took out an entire legion of snake women by himself!"

Percy whistled. He wasn't entirely sure what snake women were, but taking out a legion of anything single-handed was impressive.

"I know, right? He'll never admit it, but enough of us have heard the same rumor that we are convinced of its accuracy."

"I see. What's your ability, by the way?"

"I can cause localized earthquakes. Most of the time I focus them into straight lines, but sometimes I like to shake things up. You?"

"I control water, can breath underwater, and can materialize a small amount of water."

James winced when I said that I could control water. "You'll need to be careful with that. One of the half-bloods here is the daughter of the Mississippi river. Her left arm and right leg are made of water."

Percy's eyes widened. "This I have to see."

"OK, let's go see if she's up."

The two of them walked over to a tent halfway around the circle.

James tapped on the tent. "Clara? Are you in there?"

"No, I'm out here."

Percy and James turned around.

Standing there was a young girl, her white and blue arms crossed over her chest.

"Percy, this is Clara Summers. Clara, this is..."

"Percy Jackson. I know. Why is it that you wanted him to meet me? I am not a tourist attraction."

James winced. "He wanted to meet you because he is a son of Poseidon, and can control water."

Clara bristled.

Faster than either Percy or James could react, she had slapped a knife out of her hip sheath and had it pressed against Percy's throat. "You!" She snarled.

"What?"

"Enslaver of rivers! I should slit your throat here and now."

James stepped in. "Easy Clara. If you want to duel him, you will have to do it in the proper fashion."

Clara stepped back, the tension in her frame obvious.

Before she could speak there was a rush of wind and Backlash appeared. "What's going on here?"

"Clara just challenged Percy." James explained.

"That will have to wait. The north ward just failed. We have Hellhounds and Lastrogians inbound."

"Couldn't you handle them?"

"You guys have been whining about being bored."

"True."

"Rally the team. I want everyone armed and armored in ninety seconds."

"On it."

"Percy, I hope you're up for a fight, because ready or not, there's one on the way."


	3. The Art of War

The art of War

Percy followed Backlash as he ran toward a tent near the center of camp.

"This kind of thing happen very often?"

"You have no idea."

They reached the tent. Most of the other Rangers were already there getting their armor on, with a few stragglers still on their way.

Backlash reached into the tent, pulled out what looked like a small backpack, and tossed it to Percy.

"Put this on."

Percy did so, and was shocked as the backpack spiraled put into a breastplate, forearm greeves, and shinguards.

Backlash pulled an identical backpack out, put it on, reached back into the tent even as the backpack armored him up. He pulled out another backpack that looked like an X and strapped it to his back.

Having seen the armor packs, Percy was only slightly surprised when the X-shaped bag expanded into a pair of crossed sword sheaths on Backlash's back.

"Nice gear."

"We try. Do you have a weapon or do you need a loaner?"

Automatically Percy reached into his pocket, pulled out a pen, and uncapped it.

"Nice sword."

"Thanks..."

"Hey, I know you don't remember much, but we can talk later. Right now we have a fight on our hands." Raising his voice, Backlash yelled, "Rangers! Form up, north side! Move it!"

The entire group followed Backlash, forming a line a few feet from the north end of the camp.

The Lastrogians and Hellhounds were clearly visible, charging and yelling.

"Peter, Chelsea, go out East, wait for them to reach us, and hit their flank. Paul, Alexandra, Timothy, drop back and give us covering fire. Angelica, get airborne and bring the sky down on them. Sammy, Sean, John, Percy, Taylor, Clara, one step back and be ready to charge. James, Damien, Marian, forward a step and brace for impact."

As Percy stepped back, he saw that Backlash was stepping forward with the defensive line. He didn't have a spear, but he was still in the foremost position possible, like a good commander.

The attacking monsters began to slow as they ran into a hail of arrows from in front and above.

Periodically one of them would burst into flames and vanish, something that mystified Percy. He would have to ask Backlash about that when this was over.

The monsters hit the foremost defensive line and rebounded.

"Now!" Yelled Backlash before the monsters could get their balance back.

Percy and the other Rangers didn't have to be told twice. Yelling like there was no tomorrow, they charged through the front defensive line and engaged the monsters.

To Percy's left was the girl Backlash had called Taylor, her ax a bronze blur that spun between her hands and cut through the advancing monsters.

To his right Sammy dropped his sword, transformed into a tiger, and jumped the approaching Hellhounds.

A shadow swept over him, and Percy looked up from the Lastrogian he was stabbing to see Angelica swoop low overhead on her brilliant white wings, shooting her arrows into the monsters at point-blank range.

Under such a coordinated assault the monsters didn't have a chance. They were shredded into little pieces and ground underfoot.

Within ten minutes it was over.

"Is it just me, or are monsters getting easier?"

"I don't think it's just you."

Percy followed the group back to the camp.

Before he could ask how to take his armor off, Clara grabbed his arm.

"Wait a minute. You still owe me a duel, remember?"

Percy sighed. "Alright. How do you want to do this?"

A few moments later Percy and Clara were facing each other across a circle drawn in the dirt.

"The rules are simple." Backlash announced from outside the circle. "The first person to use their abilities or step out of the circle loses. Anything goes. Begin."

Clara charged toward Percy, knife at the ready.

Percy blocked with his sword, and swung at Clara, who barely dodged.

Percy tried to follow up on his advantage, but Clara jumped back, slashing with her knife to earn herself some breathing space.

The two combatants circled each other, looking for an opening.

Clara made the first move, darting in with her dagger.

Rather than block, Percy stepped out of the way, then disarmed Clara as she went past.

Clara lost her balance, stumbled, and fell.

Before she could rise, Percy had his sword at her throat.

"Surrender." He ordered her.

After a moment, Clara's eyes dropped and she nodded.

Percy, stepped back, capped his sword, turned to leave, and froze as a blade came over his shoulder and pressed against his throat.

"Die!" Clara snarled.


	4. Complications

Complications

Percy stood stock still, trying desperately to come up with a plan.

If he didn't do something, and fast, he was going to get his throat cut.

Suddenly the blade at his throat was gone.

Immediately afterwards Backlash appeared in front of him.

"You OK?"

"Yeah. Fine."

"Good. I will be having a talk with Clara. She's always been a bit of a loose cannon, but this is extreme, even for her."

"You don't have to tell me."

Backlash snapped his fingers. "Oh, I just realized. I never introduced the team. Rangers, assemble!"

Within moments the entire camp with the exception of Clara was lined up in two rows.

"Roll call. Name, parent, ability, and then back to your previous activity."

Realizing that this was for his benefit, Percy did his best to keep up.

"Timothy Baxter, son of Hecate, hexes."

"Sammy Bennet, son of Bacchus, tiger form."

"Alexandra Crane, daughter of Laura Crane, former Huntress."

"Damien Drake, son of Demeter, plant control."

"Sean Grey, son of Hephaestus, mechanic."

Percy realized that Backlash was looking at him expectantly. What was he supposed to say? Oh yeah.

"Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, water control."

"Ben Johnson, son of Mars, battle frenzy."

"John Peterson, son of Apollo, illusion."

"Peter Picard, son of Hermes, invisibility."

"Paul Reed, son of Athena, smart."

"James Sollus, son of Neptune, earthquakes."

"Taylor Stewart, daughter of Ares, fighter."

"Angelica Storm, daughter of Boreas." Here she flared a pair of bright white wings.

Backlash stepped forward. "Absent: Clara Summers, daughter of Mississippi, aquaform."

"Chelsea Swanson, daughter of Hermes, teleportation."

"Marian Tod, daughter of Redwood, wooden skin."

Percy's head swam with names, powers, and gods.

"Do you guy's do this often?"

"Not really."

"Oh."

Backlash patted Percy on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. You'll have plenty of time to practice."

"I'll take your word for it."

"Always a prudent course of action. Hey, you wanna go for a run?"

Percy started. "A run?"

"Sure. The north ward needs fixing, and it would be beneficial if you knew how."

Percy shrugged. "Why not? I'm not doing anything. But, um, how do I get out of this armor?"

Backlash slapped his forehead. "Silly me, I forgot. Here, let me get it."

Backlash unclasped the armor strap on the left wrist.

Instantly the armor retracted back onto his back, transforming into a backpack again.

"Stow that back in the tent, and we'll be off."

"Be right back."

Percy jogged over to the tent where he had originally gotten the bag from.

Putting the bag in the pile, Percy turned and jogged back to where Backlash was waiting.

"Ready to run?"

"Yep."

"Great. Ready, set..." Backlash took off running. "Go!"

Percy sprinted after him. "Get back here you cheater!"

"Make me, slowpoke! See ya!"


	5. Problems

Alterations

Percy stood on the shore of Lake Ontario, watching the waves, and thinking.

It had been three months since he had joined the Rangers.

In those three months, he had been in countless monster fights, seen truly amazing things, and acquired an awesome physique.

He had also not recovered any more of his memory, something that had both surprised and disappointed him.

There was a faint hum behind him.

Percy smiled. "Hey Chelsea. What's up?" he said without turning around.

Another hum sounded as the light of to his left was cut off by a peeved African woman.

"Honestly, what is the point of being a teleporter if you can't sneak up on people?"

Percy chuckled. "I don't know. Handy in a fight though."

"True."

"What brings you over here? Backlash need something done?"

"Yeah. We're running low on bandages. Backlash wants you to run across to town and buy some more. You up for it?"

Percy stretched. "Sure. Cash?"

Chelsea tossed him a small bag.

"Thanks. Back in a few!"

Percy took off running across the surface of the lake, using his control over water to keep support him.

It was the perfect day for a run. There was hardly a wave on the lake, and the sun was bright.

The Rangers had been here for almost three weeks, which meant that they would probably have to move on soon. They simply had too many half-bloods in one place to stay put for very long. They were all great fighters, but there are only so many monsters you can kill in one go before keeling over from exhaustion.

Percy jumped over a wave and kept running.

The Rangers comprised of some of the best half-blood fighters Percy had ever seen. They had to be.

Without the protection of a permanent camp, you either won or died. Those who survived were by their nature the best. Put sixteen of the best anything in the same space, and you will get astounding results.

Because of this, the Rangers were forbidden by the gods from getting directly involved in any conflict. If they could, Percy had no doubt about how much influence they would have on the outcome of the war.

Percy's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a conch horn.

Percy stopped running, turned around, and headed back to camp. He knew that signal. It meant that the camp was under attack.

Almost half of the Rangers were out, either gathering supplies, or just enjoying the fresh air. If enough of them couldn't reach the camp in time, those there might be killed!

Percy ran faster.

As soon as he reached the shore Percy pulled out his pen, uncapped it, and charged into the fight.

It was bad. There was a trio of what had to be snake women heading for the armor tent, and only Backlash, Chelsea, and Peter were still standing.

A wave rose up out of the lake behind Percy and dropped onto the Snake women.

Seeing their chance, the other Rangers darted forward, slashing and hacking.

Moments later it was over.

"Is everyone OK?" Percy gasped.

Without answering Backlash and Chelsea took off toward the edge of camp.

"Oh no."

Backlash and Chelsea were hard at work over a prone form when Percy arrived.

Percy leaned over them.

It was Clara.

"What happened?"

"She charged them before we were ready. They stabbed her through the side. I don't know if she's going to live."

Somehow, through the cloud of pain, Clara managed to focus on Percy.

"Prove...me...wrong." She whispered, then her eyes rolled up in her head and she went very still.


	6. Repairs

Repairs

As soon as Clara stopped moving Backlash started.

After checking her heartbeat, he rapped Chelsea on the shoulder until her was up to speed, then took off running across the lake.

Meanwhile Percy, after a split second of indecision, closed his eyes and focused.

A plume of water rose from the lake, over the camp, and down onto Clara's prone form.

Percy knew that water helped him heal, and he hoped that it would have a similar effect on Clara. For all that they didn't get along, he couldn't just let her die.

Besides, she wanted him to "prove her wrong", and there was only one way that could be taken in this context.

"Chelsea, we do have some nectar and ambrosia, right?"

"I'll go check." She said, before teleporting out.

Moments later she was back with a canteen.

Opening it, Chelsea carefully poured a little ambrosia into Clara's mouth.

Some color returned to the fallen Ranger's cheeks.

With a rush of air Backlash returned with new bandages.

Percy relaxed his control over the water, returning it to the lake.

Still in superspeed mode, Backlash cleaned Clara's wound, tossed the bandage to Chelsea, grabbed Percy and sprinted back to the camp.

Percy caused a wave to cannon from the lake and trip Backlash, making them both crash into the ground.

"Backlash, what are you doing?"

Backlash got to his feet. "Did it never occur to you that in order for the bandage to have the most effect, it needs to be under her shirt?"

Percy's face flushed.

"I'll take that as a no. Come on, the ward's going to need fixing. And there are probably other injuries to see to."

As it turned out there were a several minor cuts and a couple of fractures that needed tending to that kept Percy, Backlash, and the other Rangers busy for a couple of hours.

Toward the end of the second hour Chelsea showed up.

"Hows Clara?" Backlash asked.

"Stable. We can't move her though."

Backlash nodded. "For how long?"

"Hard to say. Probably for another month or so."

"You realize what this means."

"Yes."

Backlash sighed. "Call a council."

Once everyone's injuries were tended, the Rangers met at the table in the center of camp.

Backlash came right to the point. "Until Clara's injuries are healed we are stuck here. That means activating the full camp wards. As you know, that entails one of us being trapped in limbo until the wards are turned off. I'm asking for a volunteer."

There was a long silence.

"I volunteer." Came a voice from the end of the table.

Everyone turned to look to see who had spoken. It was Marian Tod. "I volunteer." She said again, louder.

"Marian, are you sure?"

Marian nodded. "Clara's my best friend. If I'm here watching her day after day, I don't know if I'll be able to function. This was I'll avoiding depressing everyone else."

Backlash stood. "Come with me."

As they walked out of the camp, Percy whispered to James, "What's the big deal about being the person in limbo?"

"Lets just say that it doesn't do good things to you."

Concerned, Percy watched as several of the other Rangers placed crafted pieces of celestial bronze around Marian in such a way as to form a cube.

Backlash stepped forward. "Marian, this is your last chance to change your mind."

Marian shook her head.

"Very well. Command code: Archimedes, the Great Greek Goof."

Percy looked at James as a high pitched hum sounded from the cube. "What?"

"Sean made them."

The camp mechanic and mischief maker. That made sense.

Suddenly blue bolts flashed from corner to corner of the cube, passing though Marian as they did so.

"AAAAAAAAA-"

Marian yelled, then was cut off as time within the cube came to a standstill, with her frozen in mid yell.

"Now what?"

"Now we wait, and we hope they both survive."


End file.
